


Herdsman

by Linorien



Series: 007 Fest 2019 [3]
Category: James Bond (Classic movies), James Bond - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Gen, Light Angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-25
Updated: 2019-07-25
Packaged: 2020-05-19 07:04:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 398
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19351915
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Linorien/pseuds/Linorien
Summary: A retired agent grieves the death of M.





	Herdsman

**Author's Note:**

> Angst prompt table - Grief  
> Also for OC day

On the edge of a cliff sat a man. The stiff wind raked over him but in his wool sweater he didn’t so much as shiver. The ocean was frothing and a rainstorm on the horizon approached. No birds sang a cheerful song, no dolphins leapt in the waves. Behind him, the sheep grazed peacefully and the dog napped on a pile of dirt he’d dug up. 

Niall sat on the edge of a cliff. He was mourning a colleague, almost a friend. They’d only spoken twice since he retired from the service, but M had been a fair man. He understood that there was a person behind each code name and he tried to know his agents. He knew that Niall found peace in the ocean where he found adventure, but they both found fun at the bottom of a whiskey bottle. 

M had known when to send which agent on a mission. He had an instinct for when a simple mission brief would blow up in their face. He would just give you a look when passing out assignments and you knew. Be on your toes, it said, something bigger is afoot. 

And when he could, he would go into the field to advise you mid-mission and update you on new developments. He used to take his whole office staff like a king traveling with his retinue and meet you in a converted shipwreck or on the top floor of a historical landmark. 

Now the man was gone. A quick shot when he was out in his personal sailboat in the mediterrainean. Two shots in the heart, one in the brain. An assassination more than revenge. Professional courtesy had been extended to give him a quick death. 

Niall pressed two fingers against his own bullet scar on his right shoulder. The injury that had pushed him into retirement. He would’ve been forcibly retired by the end of the year anyway, but this way was nobler. M knew. He understood. Q still wondered what had distracted him when he had seen the enemy taking aim. 

He hoped the ocean would take M on one last adventure. A journey to the great big ocean in the sky. 

Niall picked up the bottle of whiskey beside him. He took one drink, and then poured the rest out into the water far below him. One last drink shared with M.


End file.
